MOTOCROSS ACTION MID-WEEK REPORT
#WHIPITWEDNESDAY
Rider: Malcolm Stewart
Malcolm Stewart has been riding and racing for quite a long time as his older brother, James, was a top amateur and pro as Malcolm grew. However, Malcolm did not start seeing success until he moved up to big bikes in amateurs. He raced Loretta Lynn’s ten different years but was never able to grab a championship. In his last two years at the ranch, he was able to finish second in multiple classes including four stroke and 450 A. When he went pro he was a privateer for Arma Suzuki and had some major crashes in the learning process. As of today, he’s one of the fastest 450 riders in the class and has a good chance at winning races this year, showing that progression and consistency is everything.
MONSTER ENERGY YAMAHA STAR RACING PRIMED FOR 2025 450 SMX TITLE RUN
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing heads into the highly anticipated 2025 SuperMotocross World Championship geared up and ready for a premier-class heavyweight fight with three championship-proven riders and the potent YZ450F. Two-time 450SX Champion and four-time Pro Motocross 450MX Champion Eli Tomac is joined by two-time 450SX Champion Cooper Webb and the 2021 250SX West Champion Justin Cooper. The 31-round season kicks off after the New Year with the Monster Energy AMA Supercross season opener at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, on January 11.
After a successful off-season of racing around the globe, Tomac is looking to keep the momentum rolling into 2025 as he begins his fourth season with the team and his final full season of racing the SMX World Championship. His debut with the bLU cRU in 2022 was a dream season, earning premier class titles in both Monster Energy AMA Supercross and Pro Motocross, as well as being the team captain of the victorious Team USA at Motocross of Nations. Although he was sidelined with injuries following the penultimate round of the last two seasons of supercross, Tomac has amassed an impressive tally of wins during his tenure with the team – 15 in 450SX and 14 moto wins in 450MX – which not only bolsters his position as the winningest rider currently racing but continues to add to his legacy in the sport. Despite missing this year’s supercross season finale with a thumb injury, he finished fourth in the 450SX point standings with a win and a total of six podiums and was third overall in 450SMX despite being sidelined for 10 rounds. Tomac filled in on short notice and led the charge as the captain for Team USA at this year’s Motocross of Nations in the UK, with the team coming just three points shy of victory. He then continued his successful outings overseas by taking top honors in WSX. Tomac heads into 2025 looking to add to his win tallies and combined total of eight championships across AMA Supercross and Pro Motocross. He sits runner-up on the all-time premier-class win list in AMA Supercross with 52 victories and is also the winningest rider at Daytona Supercross with seven victories at the iconic venue.
With a total of five titles across Monster Energy AMA Supercross and Pro Motocross, Webb is also coming off of a successful off-season of racing overseas as he heads into his second full season with the team aboard the YZ450F. 2024 was a welcome return to Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing, where he enjoyed a lot of success in the 250 class – back-to-back 250SX West Championships in 2015 and 2016, as well as the 2016 250MX Championship. Webb’s never-quit attitude and gritty performances saw him battle for the 2024 450SX Championship all the way to the final round. Even with a thumb injury in the later part of the season, he finished runner-up in 450SX with four wins and a total of nine podiums and then secured a top-five finish in the 450SMX Championship despite being sidelined for 10 rounds of the 31-round series while he returned to 100% after his thumb surgery. Webb filled in on short notice to race the 250 for Team USA, finishing runner-up in the team overall, and then he continued his upward momentum to earn his first King of Paris Championship. The North Carolina rider is fired up for 2025 and eager to make another title run in the SMX World Championship.
Cooper returns for his eighth season with the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing squad in 2025. Another rider with a rich history and a 250SX West title with the team, the New Yorker had a solid first full season aboard the YZ450F and continued to make progress throughout the year. At the Supercross season finale in Salt Lake City, Utah, he scored a runner-up finish to earn his first premier-class podium and was sixth in the 450SX points. Cooper continued his forward momentum outdoors, finishing fourth in the 450MX points standings with two overall podiums and eight top-five overall finishes. His combined efforts in both Monster Energy AMA Supercross and Pro Motocross gave him a top-five seed in the SuperMotocross World Championship Finals, where he would finish the year eighth despite a cracked collarbone he injured at the second round of the three-round post-season. With a strong year under his belt, Cooper is eager to continue his upward trend in 2025.
WE TEST THE MOST EXPENSIVE 450CC DIRT BIKE OF 2025
MXA PHOTO TRIVIA
Who is this rider? Here’s a hint, his rookie season was in 2003. Answer at the bottom of the article.
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MXA INTERVIEW: GREG ALBERTYN: “IF I CAN LEAD THIS THING, I COULD WIN IT”
BY JIM KIMBALL
WHY CHOOSE EUROPE OVER AMERICA? We didn’t know anybody in America, and since Rob Herring and Collin Dugmore had moved from South Africa to Europe, we thought that was the next logical step. It is interesting to think about what my career could have looked like if I had come to the States first. Maybe my Supercross career could have gone better.
WHAT WAS THE REACTION TO YOU BEING A SOUTH AFRICAN? For those not familiar with South Africa’s politics, we were still very much in the middle of apartheid at the time. On the international stage, South Africa was almost like a cuss word. If you said you were from South Africa, people would scoff at you. I needed a visa for every single country I went to.
I couldn’t go to the Brazilian GP in 1991 because they would not allow me in. I almost missed the 1992 Swedish GP, because they didn’t want to allow me in. Europe was tough and incredibly lonely. I did not have any friends and couldn’t speak the language. The weather was dark, and the culture was dark. Most of that first year I was injured, so I sat on the sidelines not doing anything.
BUT, YOUR DREAMS CAME TRUE. Yes, a fax came through from Jan de Groot, the owner of the JHK Honda team. He said, “I need a guy who is willing to race the Dutch Championship and do the 125 Grands Prix as well.” They would pay me a salary of $10,000 Dutch guilders, plus a mechanic, bike, you name it. We thought we had died and gone to heaven. That’s how I got something for 1991.
HOW WAS THE 1991 SEASON ON THE JAN DE GROOT BIKE? It was a huge learning year. I finished tied for eighth in the 125 World Championship. The big negative for me was that the top 15 in the World Championship got flown to Guatemala and then to Brazil for the Grand Prix. I was the only rider out of 30 who was stranded in Guatemala because I could not get into Brazil. That cost me quite a few points, and I ended up tying for the 125 World Championship with Pit Beier, who is now the KTM Director for Motorsports.
DID YOU STAY WITH DE GROOT FOR THE 1992 SEASON? Yes, he signed me for the 1992 season because I led the 1991 Japanese GP for half the race until I grenaded. I got several podiums that year. When I was leading a GP, I began to believe that “if I can lead this thing, I could win one.”
If you’d like to continue reading this interview, click here!
2025 MONSTER ENERGY SUPERCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
The 2025 Monster Energy Supercross schedule has been made official! Jett Lawrence will be running the number one plate in 2025 as the defending 450SX Champion, with his brother, Hunter, set to be one of his main competitors after a strong 2024 season. Thankfully, Eli Tomac has signed with Star Racing Yamaha to return for the 2025 season, with Jorge Prado also coming over to race again, this time for the full SMX season with the Monster Energy Kawasaki team alongside Jason Anderson. Of course, Cooper Webb and Ken Roczen will be looking for redemption as well after injuries ruled them out of the 2024 Supercross season early.
The series will stop twice in Anaheim, once in San Diego and once in Glendale before going all the way across the country to Tampa, Florida. The series will return to Birmingham, Alabama, for the second year and it will stop twice in Pennslyvania in both Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
RETURNING VENUES
San Diego’s Petco Park rejoins the circuit after missing for two seasons.
Supercross will return to Petco Park in downtown San Deigo after a brief two-year stint at Snapdragon Stadium. Snapdragon seemed like a great option, being just 15 minutes up the road from downtown San Diego in the same place as the former Qualcomm Stadium. Petco Park is a logistical nightmare for riders and teams when it comes to parking and getting the bikes, mechanics, and riders to the stadium. Petco is also a nightmare for fans with parking as well. However, the Petco Park stadium is very nice and has a great backdrop of the city and the San Diego Bay.
Another switch out, East Rutherford, New Jersey, is replacing the Nashville, Tennessee round. Sadly, Nashville only lasted two years.
MISSING IN ACTION
San Francisco replaced the Oakland Supercross for the 2024 season, but it doesn’t even get a second chance to try again next year.
The San Francisco, Nashville, and St. Louis Supercross races were taken off the schedule for 2025. Taking their places are Tampa, East Rutherford, and Pittsburgh. The 2024 San Francisco Supercross proved to be another logistical nightmare, with the pits behind located far from the stadium. A mud race in 2024 was a nail in the coffin for San Francisco as each rider was required to wash his bike off completely before riding on the streets of San Francisco to get back to the pits.
2025 SUPERCROSS SCHEDULE
Defending Champion, Jett Lawrence will run the number 1 next year, but Chase will get it back for Outdoors.
- Round 1 Saturday, January 11
Anaheim, CA | Angels Stadium - Round 2 Saturday, January 18
San Diego, CA | Petco Park - Round 3 Saturday, January 25
Anaheim, CA | Angels Stadium - Round 4 Saturday, February 1
Glendale, AZ | State Farm Stadium - Round 5 Saturday, February 8
Tampa, FL | Raymond James Stadium - Round 6 Saturday, February 15
Detroit, MI | Ford Field - Round 7 Saturday, February 22
Arlington, TX | AT&T Stadium - Round 8 Saturday, March 1
Daytona Beach, FL | Daytona Intl. Speedway - Round 9 Saturday, March 8
Indianapolis, IN | Lucas Oil Stadium - Round 10 Saturday, March 22
Birmingham, AL | Protective Stadium - Round 11 Saturday, March 29
Seattle, WA | Lumen Field - Round 12 Saturday, April 5
Foxborough, MA | Gillette Stadium - Round 13 Saturday, April 12
Philadelphia, PA | Lincoln Finacial Field - Round 14 Saturday, April 19
East Rutherford, NJ | Metlife Stadium - Round 15 Saturday, April 26
Pittsburgh, PA | Acrisure Stadium - Round 16 Saturday, May 3
Denver, CO | Empower Field at Mile High - Round 17 Saturday, May 10
Salt Lake City, UT | Rice-Eccles Stadium
We’re thankful to have Eli Tomac back for the full SMX season in 2025.
FINDING THE PERFECT SEAT: DIRT BIKE SEAT COMPARISON TEST!
MXA PHOTO OF THE WEEK
Rider JP Alverez is normally an offroad racer, but also likes to get some training in at Glen Helen.
MXA PHOTO TRIVIA ANSWER: Josh Grant who was able to grab his first motocross win the very next year.
CLASSIC MXA PHOTO
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